Amate
The Otomi people in Mexico still make amate today but have trouble meeting demand due to a dwindling supply of fig and mulberry trees, which are in danger of extinction.
For example, Monument 52 from the Olmec site of San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán illustrates an individual adorned with ear pennants of folded paper.
[10] The oldest known surviving book made from amate paper may be the Grolier Codex, which Michael D. Coe and other researchers have asserted is authentic and dated to the 12th–13th century CE.
For these reason, it was probably the Maya who first propagated knowledge about bark-paper-making and spread it throughout southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador, when it was at its height in the pre-classic period.
In the second phase, the paper used by the royal authorities and priests for sacred and political purposes was a way to empower and frequently register all the other sumptuary exclusive things.
Two more advantages stimulated the extensive use of bark paper: its light weight and its ease of transport, which translated into great savings in time, space and labor when compared with other raw materials.
[20] In the Aztec era, paper retained its importance as a writing surface, especially in the production of chronicles and the keeping of records such as inventories and accounting.
[21] For ceremonial and religious events, bark paper was used in various ways: as decorations used in fertility rituals, yiataztli, a kind of bag, and as an amatetéuitl, a badge used to symbolize a prisoner's soul after sacrifice.
The Codex Mendocino was commissioned by viceroy Antonio de Mendoza in 1525 to learn about the tribute system and other indigenous practices to be adapted to Spanish rule.
[26] The most successful at keeping paper making traditions alive were certain indigenous groups living in the La Huasteca, Ixhuatlán and Chicontepec in the north of Veracruz and some villages in Hidalgo.
[35] The rise of amate paper occurred during a time when government policies towards rural indigenous people and their crafts were changing, with the latter being encourage especially to help develop the tourism industry.
[37] The Museo de Arte Popular and the Egyptian embassy in Mexico held an exhibition in 2008 on amate and papyrus with over sixty objects on display comparing the two ancient traditions.
[13] One of the most noted artists in the medium is shaman Alfonso Margarito García Téllez, who has exhibited his work in museums such as the San Pedro Museo de Arte in Puebla.
[39] In addition to providing income to the paper makers themselves the craft has been employing an increasing number of people to harvest bark, over an area which now extends over 1,500km2 in the Sierra Norte de Puebla region.
[45] Today, some cut out figures are being reinterpreted and sold as handcraft products or folk art, and the use of industrial paper for ritual is common as well.
[38] García Téllez also creates cut out books about the various Otomi deities, which he has not only sold but also exhibited at museums such as the San Pedro Museo de Arte in Puebla.
[50] The Otomi themselves have innovated by creating paper products such as envelopes, book separators, invitation cards as well as cut out figures mostly based on traditional ritual designs.
[49] These wholesalers, as well as artisans such as the Nahua who use the paper as the basis of their own work, have many more contacts and as a result, retail sales of the product are wide-ranging and varied both within Mexico and abroad.
[40] Amate paper products are still sold on the streets and markets in Mexico, much as commercialization of the produce began in the 20th century, often in venues that cater to tourists.
Each Nahua village has its own painting style which was developed for ceramics, originally commercialized in Acapulco and other tourist areas as early as the 1940s.
Experimentation led to landscape painting, especially scenes related to rural life such as farming, fishing, weddings, funerals and religious festivals.
Painter Nicolás de Jesús, from Ameyaltepec has gained international recognition for his paintings, exhibiting abroad in countries such as France, Germany, England and Italy.
His works generally touch on themes such as death, oppression of indigenous peoples and various references to popular culture in his local community.
[59] While the Nahua paintings remain the most important craft form related to amate paper, the Otomi have adopted their elaborate cut out figures to the commercial market as well.
Some large Ficus trees are considered sacred and can be found surrounded with candles and offering of cut amate paper.
[10][26] However, the taxonomical identification of trees used for amate paper production is not exact, leading estimates of wild supplies to be inaccurate.
[76] The production process in San Pablito has mostly evolved to make paper as quickly as possible, with labor being divided and specialized and new tools and ingredients added towards this end.
[13] This is negatively affecting the ecosystem of northern Puebla and forcing harvesters to take bark from other species as well as from a wider range, moving into areas such as Tlaxco.
[13][34][80] Another problem is the introduction of caustic soda and other industrial chemicals into the process, which not only gets into the environment and water supply, can also directly poison artisans who do not handle it properly.
[80][81][82] In addition, the Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social is urging a reforestation plan in order to implement a more sustainable supply of bark.
